US1281252A - Automatic type-writer actuator. - Google Patents

Description

E. s. JOHNSON & b. L. RHEA. AUTOMATIC TYPE WINTER ACTUATOR APPLICATION FILES AUG. 5- NHL 1,281,252. Patented Oct. 8,1918

q suns-swan 1.

E. S. JOHNSON & J. L. RHEA. AUTOMATIC TYPE WRITER ACTUATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJ. 19H.

Patented Oct. 8, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- E. s. souusow M. L. RHEA. AUTOMAHGIYPE WRITER ACTUATOR.

. wrucnmu FILED AUGJ. \911.

Patented Oct 8,1918.

3 SHEETS' SHEET 3.

"" ment,on a continuous perforated sheet, and mechanism adapted to quickly shift theof being reduced .UNITEDVYSTATES PATEnToFFIcn Earner s. ionnson, orwnns'rna CITY, Aim JOSEPH L. nuns, or sermon; n'nurrs,

Specification of Letters Patent.

.Bnbstitutefor application Seria -No. 54,8?9, flled-0otober 7, 1916. This eppllcatfon fled August 1, 1817. i Serial 895184987. a

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known-thatwe, Earner S. J OHNSUN andJosicrii L. RHEA, citizens of the United States, residing at Webster Cit in the county of Hamilton, State of owa, and

Council Bluffs, in the county er Pottawat tamie and State of Iowa, respectively, have invented certain new and-useful Improvements in Automatic Type-Writer Actuators; and Wade hereby declare the following to "be a full, c1ear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same I This invention relates to typewriters adapt ed for mechanical operation for theproduction of duplicate matter such as forln lettexts and thelike, through the medium of a perforated sheet and correlating mechanism..

cooperating with the keys of a typewriter.

The object of this invention is-to provide means whereb the typewriter may thus be operated niecianicall'y and automatically, and may be quickly shifted from one. set form .to another, as the same may be arcnt constituted the machine is adapted to special and limited, correspondence, in which a form letter as a whole is duplicated, the machine beingset to the beginning of such form letter for each automatic operation. This invention contemplates the arrangement of thematter to be typewritten in a series of form-words, sentences, paragraphs, or other divisional parts ,ofa letter or 'docusheet'forward or back to any predetermined sub ect matter. Inasmuch as the great mass of commercial correspondence is susceptible a limited number of set expressions, in a va-' ried and changing ord'er,,-it thus becomes.

possible to produce such letters for most purposes, without slavish-duplication, and at thesame time very rapidly,

merely selecting the operation, the operator the matter, by a momentary operation, for machine to automatically produce.

This application is ar-substitute-iw a prior one, No .a54,629,- filed .OctoberQ'i'plQlS, e subsequently abandoned. 1 i In theaccompanyingdrawings,i

' ed for visible writingia T ranged on a continuous sheet. 7 As at prestonal rather large, but still and by purely mechanical means as regards the writing from.

they, are provided with dependingl I crossshaft 17 connecting o M an electric motor 18 by pul eys19 and 20 a a belt 21. Aslow-rotation -im tmi part of this specificatipn, Figure ,1 is a which this invention-relatesas toyafford a clear idea ofits construction and-operation.

Fig. 2' is a rear view of such automatic mechanism, together with the selecting mans on. a, 1918.

mechanism forming the subject matter-of this invention. Fig. 3 is a side view, mainly external, illustrating said selective mechanism. Fig. 4- is a fragmentary view perspective illustrating thestarti'ng trip mechanism. Fig.5- illustrates a simple clutch and its releasing lever, whereby an electric motor is clutched into engagement with-the writing a mechanism, and disengaged .there- Referring to Fi .1, the nurner'al- 1 ssnotes themain frame of a typewriter adapt-r t pe-bar 2, key-lever 3, and connection 4 for t e actuation; of the type-bar in'writing. The other parts of the typewriter itself are notnecessary to'a proper understanding-of this invention. r

The mechanism for operating the type,- writer automaticall 'is connected with a sub-frame 5 on w ich the typewriter is.

mounted. Directly below the key-levers 3 1s has the usual is mounted, on a QI'OSS'IOd 6, a series of levers 7, which, for convenience, may be called master-levers. These connect at their front ends with the'key-levers by slip-links- 8, which permit independent depression of At the cross-rod'their pivoti the key-levers. holes 9 are slotted, so as to permit a little longitudinal "movement. At the rea'rQend which in'the neutral position ri e onthe surface of the paper-sheet 11 trained over, a as flutedrollerlll .When ahole in the sheet passes. under-any groove of the r0 vibrating bar 15. After asin an eccentric- '16. on a orator-is actuated by ratively with pins 1.0,

in, the pin is forced into a or bya spring -13, and is y carried forward by the revolution of the roller far enough to .bring'the In 14 ofthat mo, 0 le blow of the vibrator the master-lever 7 es back to normal position, having actuated a key-lever to: make a single type impression.

to the fluted roller, which carries the p erforated paper sheet, held to exact reg ster by sprockets 22 and marginal perforations 23, by a worm-gear 24, worm 25, shaft 26 and bevel gearing 27. The drive of the roller may be connected and disconnected by a clutch 28. Though not important, to this invention, it may be added that one of the master-levers is connected operatively with the motor switch, so as to stop the motor automatically by means of a predetermined stop-hole in the perforated sheet. It is to be understood that in the organized machine .the master levers are arranged in a closely associated series, only a few of them being shown in Fig. 2, the better to show mechanism which would be hidden by them.

Referring now to the other figures of the drawing, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the selective mechanism will be described.

In order that the perforated sheet may be moved back and forth to any desired position, the fluted roller must be unclutched from the driving mechanism, and the gang of master levers'must be raised out of contact with the paper. It is also essential to 'the practical use of the machine that in shifting from one subject matter to another the perforated sheet move rapidly, whereas its normal movement in writing is relatively slow. There must also be some means for easily determining the stopping and starting points, as the sheet is shifted, the former preferably automatic while the latter is the work of the operator. These main features, together with others, are fully set forth in the description following.

A simple high-speed drive for the paper roller consists of spiral gears 29 and 30, the latter attached to a shaft 31 mounted in bearings 32. Splined to this shaft is a'pair of connected friction disks33 straddling'a friction-wheel 34 attached to the end of the shaft 17. The disks may be shifted to the neutral position shown, or into alternate position, by a double bell-crank lever pivoted Y on a stud 36. The oppositely disposed arms 37 and 38 ofthis lever connectby links 39 with the respectivefinger or key-levers 40 and 41, fulcrumed at 42 on the table-top 43. It is evident that the depression on one or the other of the levers will causethe roller to move in one direction, and the same movement of the companion key-lever will reverse such movement. It i' first necessary, however, to unclutch the s ow driver, and this is done by the depression of either lever, through the medium of a connecting-rod 44.

bell-crank 45, connecting rod- 46 and bell crank 47 acting on the transverse shift-rod 48 connecting with the fork 49, The clutch enga es automatically by means of a spring 50. 1 t is also. necessary to release themaster if liversflfrom contact with the paper roll, so

that the paper may be run freely in either direction. This is accomplished by the deression of either key-lever acting through a ail 51 having a roller 52 resting on all of said master levers, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Ass-inningthe motor to be running in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, it will be evident that when the left keylevcr (the one shown in said figure) is depressed the master levers are all disengaged, the slow motion clutch is released, and the high-speed drive for the roll is engaged, causing the paper to advance, the fluted roll moving in the same direction as the motor. Depressing the right hand key reverses the IllOVClTlGfltof the paper. As one key-lever is depressed the other rises, as shown in Fig. 4. To allow for this movement the connecting rod 44 is slotted or forked, as shown at The friction drive may be made elastic by allowing motion of the arms 37 and 38 independently of the fork 35, and connecting them by springs 54.

()f many devices that would serve to indi cate starting and stopping positions of the paper, that herein illustrated is regarded one of the simplest and best. It comprises. a disk or dial 55 provided with movable indi cators 56 adjustable to any desired predetermined point on the Eli-31x In the-case of a manually operated machine these indicators would come, in the revolution of the dial, to a certain point, indicated in any suitable way, when the operator would start the automatic writing mechanism. It is desir able, however, that the starting of the machine to write be automatic, asv well as the writing, and the mechanism is shown as adapted for that purpo the desired slow revolution of the dial being effected by a worm 57 on the shaft 31 engaging a wormgear :18 on the vertical shaft 59 carrying the (al. A crank-wheel 60 is provided for h..nd operation. In Fig. 4. is best shown a simple type of indicator adapted to actuate trip mechanism. This comprises a clamp 61 attachable to any point along the flanged edge of the dial, as by a thumb-screw 62. Between upstanding lugs 63 is pivoted an angled finger 64 having a central shoulder 65 hearing on a spring 66, which serves to hold it when tilted to either ofits positions. In Fig. 4 it is shown in o erative position, while the one at the left in Fig. 3 is in the idle position. In the path of this trip-finger when in operative position is mounted a trip lever 67. This is in the .form of a stirrup, with a tail 68 to engage the finger a little while the latter is movin past it. The stirrup is pivoted to a suitable supporting post 69, and its arms engage u standing pivoted detents 70 which alternate v serve as latches to hold one or the other of the key lcvers in depressed position. A spring 71 holds j in I an

he actior of tlic machine will now he evidiamt. The in ator being j'first set in a position. onythe t1 coinciding with the commencement of soy desired sentence, the op tillll has only to depress the-' proper keyd mechanism is brought into in: n, mg the paper rapidly forward or heck, Mid coincidentally turning the dial. When this It ice the predetermined poon the dot nil :r disengages the high-speed and permits the automatic enoi? the clutch "for slow speed, and atijn of i ull mug. po it. "n. '3 Writing thenp1 cally until stopped, either hy ha (1, or .by suitable sto) mechanism, the l i he" of course preicrahle.

s of stomping the writing operat sengcgement'of the pulley ill.) from its slur-tit. This may he done by n clutiiih 7'3, of well-knowirtype, which am an, 7411' and. 3th 76 with, an. arm.

leases but tl' 77 of the same lever that relutch and the master levers, mg oi. a he lever serves to tch While-it disengages the is igage this clutch the lever 74 "ct-ted. link 78 with one of 79. This coiiperutes with 0 in the perforated sheet. at the cam. of the subject matter, as indicated in his." Wlu therefore, the sheet adiii-the Writing operation, for enough inesterdever to engage this stop-hole,

the clutch 7 3 is thrown out (if-engagements and the machine stops automatically.

The selective mechanism may also be started, operated and stopped by hand, if do sired. A cam-faced pnsh-button serves to disengage the master-levers. and the slowspeed. clutch, but not'engage the friction drive for 1" h speed. The form-sheet may then'he adi need or retracted by the hand-wheel 60. y In practice ,it is probable that a perforat d pay or sheet represents the sim Jlest and itory type of writingori'n meng thereby v the pattern or sclnnne which corresponds to the matter as W['ittfll1, and which cooperates with the typewriter, through suitable :mwhenisin, to produce such, written. matter. We are aware, however, that other means than a perforated ,nce or reeede the paper), when ii is tripped, and the release tonintically,but is released by a The hitter is shown pivoted on It connects by a slotted. link claim;

sheet are available; and theinvention is not limited to the useof such' perforated sheet, except the same, may be specifically claimed. A principalv feature; ofthe invem .tion. being means to facilitateflthe shifting -f1011[l.0116 writ ng form to another, it Wlll be ierein shown, one being, the group of perfo rationsiarranged ahove the upper 80in Fig.

c. and the other the above the lower it 80. v y It will be evident from, the foregoinggthat the element herein designated as the writing form controls the action-of the typewriter, through the medium of intermediate mechanism coiperating withthe typewriter keys, the main purpose of this invention being to facilitate the shifting of such writing forms into and out of action: For the "sake of brevity in the claims, and to avoid. the confusion arising from the use of the Word operator, the term actuator will beused to designate the element orset Of' IBlQIIIQIItS, through which the subject matter of the writingdform or scheme is. mechanically transmitted to the keys of the typewriter.

Having thus described our invention, We

group-below it, and

glikIn an automatic typewriter actuator having WlltlIlg-fOI'IK'lS arranged on a single medn :m, feed mechanism therefor, indicators corresponding to the various forms, and means connecting the indicators .operativ'ely with the form feed, whereby the positionin of the indicators denotes the beginning 0 any desired fornrw i j y 2- In an automatic typewriter actuator having writing-forms separately disposed on a single medium, feed mechanism for said medium, indicators coinciding with the vas rious forms, a carrier therefor, and mechanism connecting the feed and carrier, whereby any indicator is moved to a predetermined position, and the'beginning of a form is denoted. M p

3. In' an automatic typewriter actuator having a single controlin medium with forms separately dispos thereon, feed mechanism therefor cooperating normally with the writing mechanism, an independent form-fced, means for disengaging the 'normal feed, and a movable indicator cooperating with the independent feed to denote the commencement of any desired form.

' '4. In an automatlc typewriter actuator having a controlling medium with 'fprms disposed thereoma normal feed therefor, an auxiliary, faster feed, mehhanism to shift from one feed to the other, a lock for the faster feed, and trip mechauis1n to release the lock and perinit the restoration of the normal feed.

5:1 1 an automatic typewriter-actuator I IO having a controlling medium with separate forms thereon, a normal feed therefor, an auxiliary and faster feed, mechanism to shift the feed from normal to faster, a look for the same, trip mechanism to release said lock, and means for automatically tripping the lock at a predetermined point to release the faster and restore the normal feed.

6. In an automatic typewriter actuator having separately disposed writin forms on a single medium, a normal feed t erefor, an auxiliary, faster feed operating backward and forward, automatic mechanism adapted to so actuate the feed, a lock to hold the feed in actuating position, and a trip for the lock releasable at a 'predetermined point by said actuating mechanism.

7. In an automatic typewriter actuator having multiple writing forms on a single medium, a normal feed for said medium, a faster, backward or forward feed, mechanism to actuate the same automatically, a.

lock therefor, a locktrip, a movable indicator connecting with the actuating mechanism to release the trip, and means for setting the indicator to release the trip at a predetermined point.

8. In an automatic typewriter actuator having writing forms on a single medium, a normal feed t erefor, an auxiliary feed operable backward or forward, mechanism adapted to actuate the same automatically, means for engaging either backward or forward feed at will and disengaging the normal feed, and means for arresting the auxiliary feed at any desired point and restoring the normal feed.

9. In an automatic typewriter actuator having a controlling writing-form medium, a normal feed therefor, a backward or forward auxiliary feed therefor, automatic the trip mechanism, and a moverefor, an auxiliary feed and mechtuating mechanism and indicators thereon, 5

said indicators being shiftable in and out of the path of the trip mechanism.

11. In an automatic typewriter actuator having a writing-form medium, normal and auxiliary feeds therefor, means for actuating 5 the auxiliary feed backward or forward, means. for shifting from one feed to the other,-a clutch for the feed actuating mechanism, and a connection between the clutch and the feed shift.

12. In an automati typewriter actuator having a writing-form medium, a normal feed therefor, an auxiliary feed and mechanism to operate the same backward or forward, a clutch therefor, means for shifting from one feed to the other, a connection of the clutch therewith, and a connection of the clutch with the main actuator mechanism, whereby the clutch is manually engaged and automatically disengaged.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signa turesin presence of two witnesses.

' ERNEST S. JOHNSON. JOSEPH L. RHEA. Witnesses:

H. R. ASH, J. C. PRYER, Jr.

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